The present invention relates to the field of circuit board and substrate manufacture and, more particularly, to a non-continuous conductive layer for laminated substrates.
Circuit boards and printed circuit boards (PCB) are commonly used in electronic devices of today. Many electronic devices, such as motherboards, memory devices, video adaptors, network cards and the like are created using circuit boards.
Generally, a circuit board is a flat piece of insulating material such as fiberglass, epoxy or phenolic resin, on which electrical components are mounted and interconnected to form a circuit. The flat piece of insulating material forms the substrate. A laminated circuit board is a circuit board in which a conductive layer is laminated onto an insulating layer.
Circuit boards or PCBs have multiple conductive paths or interconnects to provide electrical connections among circuit components on the board. FIG. 1A shows a typical laminated circuit board having a copper layer 101 laminated onto a fiberglass layer 102. This circuit board or substrate has a thickness of 0.010 inches, a length of 7.2 inches and a width of 1 inch. FIG. 1B shows a typical laminated circuit board having a fiberglass layer 102 sandwiched between two metal layers 101, 103 such as copper. This circuit board has a thickness of 0.012 inches, a length of 7.2 inches and a width of 1 inch. Circuit boards are commonly used for devices such as memory devices, module boards, video cards, sound cards and the like.
The connections between components on a circuit board are typically created by using photolithography. The circuit pattern is drawn, photographed, and reduced to a negative having the desired final size. This negative is called the photomask or mask. Light is passed through the mask onto a substrate having a conductive layer that has been coated with a photoresistive material. Where light strikes the photoresistive material, its composition is changed. In the next step, the photoresistive material not affected by light is washed off. Finally, the circuit board is exposed to an etching solution that eats away the parts of the conductive layer not protected by the photoresistive material, creating the desired circuit pattern on the surface of the circuit board.
Standard substrates are used for circuit boards and devices such as memory devices. Minor defects or deformations in these substrates or circuit boards can have a significant impact on further processing of the circuit board which includes attaching components, such as integrated circuits, to the circuit board. Processing requires strict tolerances and even minor deformations can damage equipment or render a circuit board useless. For example, even a {fraction (1/16)}xe2x80x3-xe2x85x9xe2x80x3 bow in a substrate for a dual in line memory module (DIMM) can cause problems in processing the module.
FIG. 2 shows a typical circuit board after it has been patterned. After a circuit board is patterned, circuit boards typically include lengths of conductive material along each edge of the circuit board, from one end to the other end. These lengths of conductive material are called rails and are shown in FIG. 2 as a first rail 201 and a second rail 202. The rails 201 and 202 are formed as a result of the patterning. The conductive material can be a metal such as copper. Conductive materials have a property that once they are deformed or bent, they xe2x80x9crememberxe2x80x9d that deformation. For example, once a piece of copper is bent a certain way, the piece will have a tendency to bend that certain way even after it is bent a different way. Because of the rails, these circuit boards or substrates have a tendency to remember any deformation that they are subjected to. Circuit boards encounter thermal cycling during processing which causes the expansion and contraction of the substrate. This can result in circuit boards that are warped or deformed.
What is needed is a way to reduce warping or deforming of circuit boards during processing.
A method for fabricating a circuit board having a non-continuous conductive layer is disclosed. A conductive layer is laminated onto an insulating layer. A pattern is etched on the conductive layer to eliminate continuous lengths of conductive material.
A method for fabricating a circuit board is disclosed. A conductive layer is formed over an insulating layer. The conductive layer has a first rail area, a pattern area and a second rail area. The pattern area of the conductive layer is patterned. Conductive material from the first and second rail areas is removed.
A module board is disclosed. The module board includes a circuit board, a pattern and rails. The circuit board has a conductive layer of a conductive material laminated to an insulating layer. The pattern is etched onto the substrate. The rail is located along a first and second length of the substrate. The rail is an area not etched from the pattern. Conductive material is at least partially removed from the rails to remove continuous lengths of conductive material from the circuit board.
Other methods, systems and devices are disclosed.